Grant Wigfield

The theme of this essay is how Mark Twain's use of local color improved his writing.

1. Huckleberry as a character uses bad grammar and colloquialisms
2. Huckleberry as a narrator has improved his grammar and uses less colloquialisms
3. This shows that Huck has learned more
4. This also suggests that educated people tend to have better grammar
5. Jim is a slave
6. Because of this, Jim is uneducated
7. Jim doesn't have very good grammar and lots of colloquialisms when he talks
8. This shows Jim's lack of education
9. Huck often refers to Jim as a negative racial phrase that I'm not sure that I should mention here
10. Other characters do this as well
11. This novel takes place in the South before the Civil War
12. Slavery was common there back then
13. Many people there in that time were racist
14. The use of this phrase is representative of the place, time, and backgrounds of the characters
15. When confronted with adults, the children of both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn refer to them as "sir" or "ma'am"
16. Children then were more quiet and obedient to their elders then then they are now
17. This is also representative of the time
18. It is also represntative of the character's background
19. Many character speak in the aforementioned novel speak with colloquialisms
20. They also use improper grammar from time to time
21. This is more commonly used by the children than the adults
22. This shows that the children aren't as well educated as the adults
23. Some people see some of these colloquialisms as part of a stereotypical Southern accent
24. Since this novel takes place in the South, this is somewhat representative of the character's backgrounds and the setting
25. In both novels, Huckleberry Finn seems to uses more improper grammar than Tom Sawyer
26. Tom Sawyer, while still pretty bad, is better in school and even attends more
27. This shows that Tom Sawyer is more educated than Huckleberry Finn
28. In The Prince and the Pauper, the setting is Victorian England
29. There, they use a different kind of English then the kind that they use today
30. This is representative of the time
31. In The Prince and the Pauper, there are many different social classes
32. The prince is at the top, while the pauper is at the bottom
33. The pauper speaks more modern English than the prince
34. In fact, most lower class speak more modern English than upper classes
35. Bottom class people in this novel are very uneducated
36. Top class people in this novel have a very high education
37. Because of the way that they talk, it is suggested that the upper classmen are better educated than those below them
38. This is also representative of the time
39. In Mark Twain's short stories, most character talk just like the narrator
40. The narrator always is in the modern time
41. This suggests that the story takes place recently
42. The characters also speak with better grammar than those in Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn.
43. Better grammar usuage is commonly used by those with a good understanding of grammar
44. Most people have a better understanding of grammar when they go to school
45. Because of this, it is suggested that these people have a better education than people in the time of the two aforementioned novels
46. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Huck meets the King and the Duke
47. These people claim to be royalty, though Huck doesn't believe them
48. These characters tend to talk in a more sophisticated manner than Huck or Jim
49. However, they don't talk too sophisticated
50. As said earlier, upper class people tend to be better educated
51. This also suggests that educated people talk differently than uneducated people
52. However, since they are not really royalty, they do not have the kind of education they have
53. Because of this, Mark Twain made them not speak as if they are royalty
54. Mark Twain wrote another novel called A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
55. Most of this novel takes place in 513
56. Because of this many characters do not talk in modern English
57. However, the narrator does
58. The characters who speak in old English are representative of their time
59. The narrator, too, represents his time
60. Mark Twain wrote another piece of work called 1601
61. It obviously takes place in 1601
62. Here, many characters talk in old English
63. This is representative of the time
64. Most of the characters are also of upper cls
65. This also suggests that upper class people speak differently
66. It may also suggest that they are better educated
67. The narrator also talks in a similar English
68. The author is also a character in the book
69. This means that the narrator tells the story not long after the events
70. Yet another book was Old Times on the Mississippi
71. A couple of characters speak with a little bad grammar and a few colliquialisms
72. However, the narrator does not
73. It seems that these words are used to make a Southern accent within the dialogue
74. The characters also seem more educated than those in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
75. And yet another book was The Innocents Abroad
76. This book is about the Pilgrims, so it takes place in the late 1600s
77. Because of this, they speak in a mix of old and new English
78. This is representative of the time
79. It is also representative of where the Pilgrims came from
80. It might also represent their amount of education

Hurt, Matthew. "Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The Explicator 64.1 (2005): 41+. Student Edition. Web. 3 Dec. 2010.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999.

Twain, Mark. The Prince and the Pauper.

What was the Tudor Dynasty?. WiseGeek. 6 Dec. 2010 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-tudor-dynasty.htm.

Twain, Mark. Short Stories.

Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Google Books. 7 Dec. 2010 http://books.google.com/books?id=v2laAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+connecticut+yankee+in+king+arthur's+court&hl=en&ei=oTj-TKDIEIGB8gb9tcTjBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Twain, Mark. 1601 by Mark Twain- Full Text Free Book. 7 Dec. 2010 http://www.fullbooks.com/1601.html.

Twain, Mark. Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. "Old Times on the Mississippi". The University of North Carolina. 7 Dec. 2010 http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/twainold/twain.html.

Twain, Mark. The innocents abroad: or, The new... - Google Books. Google Books. 7 Dec. 2010 http://books.google.com/books?id=uH6wAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+innocents+abroad&hl=en&ei=hvD_TIWsM4-q8AbI_rn1Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.